Farmers protest delay in loan waiver disbursement

Bhongir: Farmers expressed their anger, alleging that the bank chairman and staff were neglecting to disburse the loan waiver funds sanctioned by the State government. On Tuesday, they protested in front of the Chandupatla Rythu Vedika, demanding the implementation of the loan waiver. During the protest, the farmers confined Chairman Mandadi Lakshmi Narasimha Reddy and the staff inside the Rythu Vedika and staged a sit-in protest outside.

Officials mentioned that while a loan waiver of Rs 40 crore was to be granted to 300 farmers, only Rs 7 crore 49 lakh had been sanctioned in three phases to 90 farmers. However, due to the negligence of the bank’s management, none of the farmers had received the loan waiver.

The farmers protested in front of the bank, demanding the release of the loan waiver funds. The bank chairman held a meeting with the farmers at the Rythu Vedika, where a large number of farmers gathered and questioned the management.

Moreover, they locked the chairman and management inside the Rythu Vedika as part of their protest. They expressed frustration, stating that while loan waiver funds were being distributed across all banks in the state, the Chandupatla PACS had failed to do so.

The farmers demanded that the loan waiver amounts be deposited into their accounts as promised by the bank’s management.

As the situation escalated, the management informed the Bhuvanagiri Rural Police. Even after ASI Srinivas tried to calm the farmers, it had little effect, leading to the involvement of Tehsildar Anji Reddy and the SBI bank manager.

Tehsildar Anji Reddy and the bank staff arrived at the scene, understood the reasons for the delay in disbursing the loan waiver, and assured the farmers that the funds would be credited to their accounts by the end of the month. This assurance helped bring the situation under control.